This Isn't Everything You Are
by casa-dilla
Summary: AU- Based on the Austenland movie with a lot of those same recurring themes (maybe even a line or two). There's a made up comic-verse, a whole lot of fangirling Felicity, and surprisingly several Arrow characters that I wasn't initially intending. You want to find out who? You'll have to read…


A/N: So this is my take on an Arrow/Austenland AU. Basically it takes the idea of Austenland and translates it to a comic book type theme. It's mostly madness, but hopefully it's enjoyable. This thing is going to be a monster (compared to my normal 1-3 chapter fics that is) so you may have to bear with me. Alright, I think that's all. I respect and appreciate constructive criticism. You don't have to be nice, but if you want to leave a review, at least make it constructive, eh?

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Felicity had finally pinpointed the root of her obsession, and to be honest, she completely blamed Sara. Sara, who'd shown Felicity her first comic at age eight. Sara, who'd initiated their imaginary play time as 'hero' and 'damsel' instead of princesses or cops and robbers. Sara, who had grown out of her obsession about the time her boobs came in, and left Felicity alone to geek out at her favorite super-hero movies, drool over Comic-Con tickets and fantasize about being rescued from a precarious situation by a masked hero.

So here she was, twenty five, perpetually single, and she'd just found out from one of her most reliable blogger friends that Comic-Con was creating an 'ultimate fan' challenge. The winner would receive a five day complete immersion experience in Felicity's favorite comic-verse, Phantom Fire.

Felicity had been in love with Phantom Fire, aka Rick Holte, since she first laid eyes on the comic. Her obsession grew, steadily over the years, especially when she found out that it was turned into a mini series in the 80's. Emilio Estevez had played the first televised incarnation and Felicity had illegally downloaded the four part series last year even though she had it on DVD.

But things really went south obsession wise when they announced a new animated television series centering around Phantom Fire, exploring his origins and bringing in new characters in the comic-verse. Felicity's obsession went into overdrive and Sara began calling her best friend's sanity into question.

"You need to stop this," Sara said, leaning over Felicity's shoulder. The blonde was huddled over her laptop in her room, furiously attempting to land a spot in the Phantom Fire trivia challenge. It was the qualifier to winning the Phantom Fire trip and Felicity would stop at nothing to be the winner.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Felicity said, not even looking up, her fingers dancing across the keys, continually refreshing the page to see if she'd been chosen. "Hey, quiz me while you're here."

"No," Sara said, pulling on Felicity's pony tail so that her head tilted back and the two locked eyes. "Seriously, Fe- this has gotten out of control."

Felicity sighed, her fingers itching to get back to the computer, to refresh until they announced the final contestant in the trivia challenge. "It's not out of control," she said, feeling more like a junkie than she should. "I can stop any time I want."

"You sound like an addict," Sara scoffed.

"But I'm not," Felicity answered, slowly pulling her head down, back toward the computer screen. She refreshed the screen several more times until the final slot was filled in. And then Felicity felt her heart stop beating.

She went into immediate hyperventilations and nearly fell out of her chair. Sara glanced over Felicity's shoulder again, spotting her friends name. Sara spun the desk chair around to face her and grabbed ahold of Felicity's shoulders.

"Breathe," she demanded, watching her friend struggle for breath in the midst of her excitement. "You'll never make it to the trivia round if you stop breathing and die."

This seemed to calm Felicity down enough to at least manage some semblance of inhaling and exhaling.

"I-I-I did it." She was bouncing in her chair now, looking like she was going to explode. "It's just too much. I can't…. I can't."

"You can't what?" Sara asked.

"I just can't," Felicity said with a laugh, beginning to reverberate with intense feelings. She spun around in her chair a few times, before posting excited messages all over the interwebs to all of her fandom friends, many of whom were already congratulating her- or telling her how much they hated her. This seemed to make her even more excited and Sara took a seat on Felicity's bed, watching the excitement come in waves every time a new friend messaged her.

"Just because you are in the trivia round doesn't mean you're going to win," Sara said.

Felicity threw her a glare. "Thanks Debbie Downer."

"I'm just saying. These are all superfans, and there's forty years of comic book knowledge to memorize."

"Oh god!" Felicity exclaimed, reaching for the closest stack of comics. "I'm going to have to stay up all night making flashcards. We should have a viewing party. Do you want to have a viewing party?"

"It's Friday night," Sara said, with an expectant look that said she'd rather be out at a bar or club, dancing with cute strangers and each other, making everyone there want them.

"I know but the trivia match is in two days!"

"And Rick Holte isn't going to keep you warm at night!" Sara said, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that this…" Sara gestured around the room. "It's hindering you from having a life…"

Felicity's shoulders and gaze both fell. "Harsh…"

Sara took Felicity's hand, grabbing her attention. "You know I"m just looking out for you sweetie. I understand liking Rick and Phantom Fire, but it's just fantasy."

"Maybe fantasy is better than reality."

"I'm going to say one more thing about it and then I'll be excited and happy for you, okay?" Felicity nodded, so Sara continued. "I know you think that this fantasy is better than reality…. but when this whole thing is over, the contest, the trip- will you consider giving reality a fair shot?"

Felicity frowned. So much for being over-enthused and literally bouncing off the walls. All she could think now was that her best friend was ashamed to be that. But she had to admit, when it came right down to it, every single relationship she'd ever been in fell short. And they'd all fallen short for one distinct reason- not a single one of the guys she'd dated in real life could measure up to Rick Holte and Phantom Fire. It was like Rick was the ultimate man and no one else even came close.

It was stupid, she knew. The thought that there could be someone out there that could compare to Rick. Someone that could be both strong and compassionate, entitled but strangely down to earth. A man who lived a little bit dangerously and knew how to be passionate. Those things rarely co-mingled in a single person, if they did at all. So it was easier just to love the fantasy of Rick and go on letting him be her perfect guy.

And in that moment she understood what Sara meant. Felicity sighed and nodded her head. "Deal," she conceded.

Sara smiled. "Great," she tapped Felicity's knee. "Now we've got some trivia prepping to do. How about you get the DVD's set up and we make fun of Emilio Estevez's 80's costumes ?"

Felicity cleared her throat and stood, closing her computer. She was still excited about the trivia challenge, but she'd be lying if she wasn't just the least bit nervous that when this was all said and done, Sara would be right.

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><p>They'd announced that there would, in fact, be two winners to the contest. These two winners would each receive a 5 day all-inclusive, totally immersive experience in the Phantom Fire-verse. The trip would be to a soundstage transformed to look like the streets of Silver City where Rick Holte lived. Each winner would have their own penthouse suite just like Rick's and would have the chance to interact with characters from the comics. And even though Felicity knew they would be most likely all out of work actors hired for the week, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement at the thought of living in a world of cosplay, even if it only was for a few days.<p>

She'd even read a spoiler that at the end of the week there'd be a charity gala where The Baron would attempt to kidnap the winners and that a Silver City hero would swoop in and rescue them. That thought alone was enough to send Felicity over the edge.

It was the last round of the Comic-Con trivia challenge and Felicity was up against the biggest fan she'd ever met. Whoever won this round would be the last winner. Another girl, Iris West had already won the first spot earlier in the day after smoking the competition in the Battlewing trivia round. Battlewing was an ally of Phantom Fire and the two were often written into each other's comics. They both resided in Silver City, and with the new animated series being titled Silver City, it made sense that both were included in the trip.

Felicity was beginning to realize just how prepared everyone else was, although she was surprised when her last adversary didn't know that Rick's name was short for Patrick and not Richard, but she wouldn't complain. Felicity got that question right, after all, putting her one step closer to Silver City.

Felicity and her final foe, Roy, were both tied at four questions right. Whoever locked in the final question correctly would win. The blonde's hands were sweating and her thumb trembled on the trigger she held. Roy was staring her down, his eyes looking nearly black from the short distance across from her. The host stood between the two, making cheesy jokes and trying to lighten the mood. But neither Felicity nor Roy gave any indication that they were ready to break their stare. And so, the host posed his final question.

"In issue 413 of the original Phantom Fire comics, what is the name of Rick's only surviving family member?"

Roy buzzed in first, answering immediately. "His sister Edith."

Felicity, who had initially been shocked and horrified at Roy buzzing first, broke out in a huge smirk. Roy was over-confident and had already assumed he had won but recoiled at her response. And then the host told Roy that he was incorrect, and turned the question over to Felicity.

"His sister's name was Edy in the original comics," Felicity said confidently. "They didn't change it to Edith until the Silver City Origins comics- issue 104, I believe."

The host, who was stunned for a brief moment, quickly collected himself and congratulated Felicity. The blonde was already bouncing up and down as the Phantom Fire theme song began playing and confetti was shot from somewhere off stage. Felicity scanned the crowd for where she knew Sara had been sitting and found her grinning from ear to ear, two thumbs up.

The shock wore off after a few moments and the real excitement…. and anxiety began to set in. She was photographed with Iris, interviewed, forced to sign confidentiality waivers and a dozen other non-disclosure agreements that she wouldn't say anything until the producers were ready to air the special about Silver City. Felicity hadn't even known there was going to be a television special, but thankfully it was 90% going to be about the comics with only brief snippets of their time at the Silver City Soundstage.

Felicity had to call in and request the following week off of work (her boss at Circuit Board wasn't happy, but since she was the most reliable employee he had, she at least knew her job was safe). The days until she left dragged on, each one seeming longer than the previous. She filled her nights with fanfiction and hunting down spoilers about the trip- which now that the competition was over were few and far between. Apparently the company running the competition released the spoilers to gain interest, and now that they had their winners they weren't willing to share anything more.

And then finally the day arrived- where Sara dropped her off at the airport with a gift bag and strict instructions that she had to change before she got on the flight. Felicity agreed, but probably should have opened the package before hand, because she was extremely surprised when she opened it to find a handmade replica of Rochelle Roth's waitress uniform. Rochelle Roth was one of the only people in Silver city to know Rick's secret and her unsuspecting job of filling coffee cups allowed her to overhear evil plots a time or two. Rochelle was also Felicity's favorite female character and so even though the uniform was slightly embarrassing, it also made Felicity that much more excited for a week of cosplaying.

After checking in for her flight, Felicity locked herself in the handicap stall of the airport bathroom and changed into the black a-line skirt, white blouse, saddle shoes and a blue and red apron that said "Big Belly Burger". She felt slightly ridiculous, but more excited than anything. And when she sat down beside Iris in the waiting area at the gate, she was glad to have a friend like Sara to make her an outfit.

Iris sighed eying Felicity's get-up. "I wish I'd thought to bring a costume."

"I'm sure they'll have clothes for us there," Felicity said, straightening her apron on her lap.

"Rochelle Roth though?" Iris questioned.

Felicity nodded. "She's my favorite."

Iris shrugged. "If there's anyone in Silver City I want to be it's Adelaide Drake." Iris grinned. "She flirts with whoever she pleases and has gotten almost every superhero in Silver City into a compromising situation at least once."

"She's also Battlewing's greatest nemesis," Felicity said with a frown.

"Which makes it all that much more fun."

Felicity wondered if they'd get to pick who they wanted to be once they got to Silver City. She knew she should think of it as the soundstage, but she was committed to full immersion, and that began now, apparently. Because when she stepped out of the plane in Los Angeles the sleek, black 1957 Chevy that awaited them proved that the Comic-Con contest was going all out just as much as she was.


End file.
